Die set separator



Oct. 12, 1954 O. G. HILDEBRAND DIE SET SEPARATOR Filed NOV. 30, 1951INVENTOR. 07710 $1604 OEBEA/Vfl BY 9' I I Array/67.5

Patented Oct. 12, 1954 DIE SET SEPARATOR Otto G. Hildebrand,Brecksville, Ohio Application November 30, 1951, Serial No. 259,203

1 Claim.

The present invention relates to a punch press die set separator and itis more particularly di-.

rected to apparatus by which the members comprising a die set may bebrought together or separated. The present application is a continuationin-part of my application Serial No. 76,632, filed February 15, 1949 forDie Set Separator, now abandoned.

In the construction of dies and punches, such as those employed forcutting and forming sheet metal parts by punch presses, it is usual tomount the die and punch elements on a die set, which set comprises tworelatively heavy metal plates, one of which is adapted to carry the dieand to be mounted on the table or stationary member of the press and theother of which is adapted to carry the punch and to be connected to theram or movable member of the press. In order to maintain the plates ofthe die set in alignment during use, one plate, usually the die plate,is provided with two or more guide rods which project therefrom andwhich are adapted to extend through bushings located in the punch plate.During the construction of the die elements on the sets, it is necessaryfrom time to time to check the manner in which the die elementscooperate when the latter are brought together. This is diflicult to doas the die elements and die sets are relatively heavy and the guide rodsof the die set have an extremely close fit in the bushings within whichthey engage, and the principal object of the present invention is theprovision of novel and improved apparatus adapted to move the plates ofa die set relative to one another to simulate the operation of the dieset in a punch press.

Another object of the invention is the provision of apparatus of thecharacter referred to in which the plates of the die set are mountedwith their major planes vertical, whereby the die elements may be easilyobserved by the die maker as one of the plates is moved to and from theother.

An additional object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of thecharacter referred to in which the plates of the die set rest on asupporting surface during the relative movement thereof so that theguide rods are not subjected to loads tending to cause binding withtheir corresponding bushings.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus whichsupports the plates of the set throughout the entire closing and openingmovements whereby the necessity of manual handling ofeither part of theset at the initia- 2 tion and termination of the separation of thmembers of the set is obviated.

The invention resides in certain novel constructions and combinationsand arrangement of parts, and further objects will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art to which it relates from the following disclosureincluding a description of the preferred embodiment described withreference to the accompanying drawings forming a part of thisspecification in which similar reference characters designatecorresponding parts throughout the several views, and in which:

Fig. l is a plan view of a die set separator embodying the invention,

Fig. 2 is a view in section taken on line 2--2 of Fig. 1; and,

Fig. 3 is a view in section taken substantially along line 3-3 of Fig.2..

In general, apparatus embodying the invention comprises means forming ahorizontal plane surface upon which the plates of a die set may besupported edgewise so that the major planes thereof extend vertical. Amember mounted for movement in opposite directions and in a straightpath along the plane surface is engageable with one of the die setplates to translate the same edgewise along the surface. The movement ofthe die set plate translating member may be precisely controlled by theuser of the apparatus for positioning the die setplate as desired. Anabutment is provided on the plane surface, which abutment is fixedrelative to the movable member and is adapted to engage the other of thedie set plates supported on the plane surface for pref venting movementof the latter plate with the plate translated by the movable member.Preferably, a clamp is associated with the abutment to secure the dieset plate to the abutment.

Although the invention may be embodied in various forms, it is hereinshown, by way of illustration, asembodied in apparatus comprising aplate 6 which, in the preferred form,-is cast iron, and includesdepending edge flanges i and reinforcing webs 8 formed on its underside. Preferably, the top surface is machined to provide a smooth, planesurface. The plate 6 is supported horizontally on a suitable base, suchas a bench top, or it may be mounted on legs 9' indicated m by brokenlines, which legs may be attached thereto by any suitable means, such asby bolts. When the plate is supported on a flat surface, the flanges l,which have depending portions at the corners of the plate,- support theplate proper purpose indicated hereinafter.

A slot-like opening 9 is formed in the plate 6 and extends in alongitudinal direction, preferably midway between the sides of theplate. Two gibs 10, II are provided on the under side of the plateextending along the opposite side of the slot 9. Preferably, the gibsI0, ll comprise rods which are generally rectangular in cross sectionwith one side l2 thereof lying in a plane which slopes relative to theopposite side. The sides 42 are smooth and'form upwardly facingslidewayswhen attached to the underside of the plate 6, as shown. The plate 6 hasdepending flanges l3 against which the gibs I0, H are positioned andwhich form backings to prevent spreading of the gibs. The gibs areattached to the plate 6 by bolts M.

A die set plate translating member in the form of a clamp 15, is mountedin the gibs Ni, ii for movement longitudinally along the slot 9. Theclamp has longitudinally extending flanges l6, H on opposite sidesthereof which cooperate with the gib surfaces 12 and support the clampfor sliding movement longitudinally of the slot '9. Preferably, theouter sides of the flanges #5, ll taper downwardly and inwardly andcorrespond tothe slope of the sides l2 of the gibs 18, H sothatthe-outer-sides of the flanges are supported onthe inner face of thegibs, as shown. By the construction shown,.clamp I5 may be easilyassembled in place by bolting one gib .inplace first, then plaoing onefiangeof the clamp in engagement with the gib and then attaching theother gib in place beneath the other flange of the clamp. Two spacedjaws l8, l9 project upwardly from the central portion of the clamp,which jaws extend above the top surface of plate 6 and-are adapted toreceive therebetween one of the plates PI of a die set comprising platesPI and P2. The jaw 18 is reinforcedby pairs of webs 2i and jaw I9 has athreaded opening 22 therethrough for the reception of a clamping rod 23.The lower end of the rod 23 has aclamp foot 24 swivelly connectedthereto and the opposite end has a handle 25 by which the rod may berotateoland moved axially. A threaded sleeve'28 is supported on rod 23and is adapted to be threaded in1the bore 22 in jaw l9. Preferably, therod '23 is adapted to slide longitudinally in:the sleeve and means isprovided for locking and releasing the rod to and from the sleeve byturning the :rod relative to the sleeve. This enables .the rodto bequickly moved longitudinally in the sleeve to engage the foot24 with adie set plate and .then looked with the sleeve after which the rod andsleeve may be rotated as a unit in the threaded bore '22 to tightlypress the .foot to the die set plate-and thereby clamp the die setplate.to the jaw 8. The details of the construction of :the rod and sleeveare not shown but they ,may be similar to those disclosed in U. S..patent 2,396;823. Alternatively, any other suitable threaded rod couldbe substituted for rod 24 and the sleeve 28. The central portion .of thekclamp l5 hasa depending lug 29 formed thereon, which lug has a threadedopening therethrough for receiving the threaded portion of a shaft 30 bywhich the clamp may be moved along the slot when the shaft is rotated.;It should be noted that the width of the slot 9 and the width of theparts of the clamp l5 which engage the die set plates are less-than theminimium space between the guide rod bushings of the various die setplates to be used in the apparatus.

The shaft 30 is journalled in a trunnion 3i formed in flanges l and atone end of the plate 6 and it is prevented from longitudinal movement tothe left by a collar 32 formed thereon, which collar abuts one end ofthe trunnion. The shaft extends beyond the left-hand end of the plateand a crank 33 is secured thereto by a set screw 34. The crank abutstrunnion 3| to prevent longitudinal movement of the screw shaft to theright. It will be noted that the shaft 30 is above the bottom surfacesof flanges I so that when the plate is supported on a bench,forlexample, the shaft will clear the bench top. 'Byturning the crank 33in one direction or the other, the clamp I5 may be moved in onedirection or the other alongsthe slot 9 as desired.

Astop bar 35 is suitably attached to the top of table member 6, and itextends normal to the axis of slot"9-and adjacent the left-hand endportion thereof. In the present form of the invention the bar 35 isprovided with three dowel pins 36 which engage in corresponding holes inthe plated-which pins and holesareadapted to hold the bar at exactly tothe axis -of theslot 9. Two screws 3T extend through openings throughthe bar-and are threaded into the plate for .securing thebar to theplate. The-bar 35,forms an abutment against which'the plate P2 of thedie set engages when theplate Pl .is'moved bythe clamp I5 so that plateP2 will remain stationary during translational movement of plate .Pl

In using the apparatus, the plates P1, P2 10f thedie set are placed onedge on the platezfi'with the edges adjacent to the guide rods and guidebushings engaging the plane surface of theplate 6. One of the plates ofthe die ,set, the punch plate PI, for example,-is locked in clamp J5,and if the plates of the set are to be separated, {the die'plate'P2 isdisposed on the side ofthe bar 35 opposite thatof ,the clamp. .Shaft 30then retated in a direction to cause the clamp 15 tomove away from thedie plate P2 which slides .the punch plate Pl along the surface of theplatej6-in a straight line and separates it from the die plate. Thedieset may likewise be closed by reversing the movement of the clamp L5 andplacing t he die plateon the opposite side of bar :35.

Preferably, means is provided for clamping a die plate to the outerlsideof bar 35 to hold the die plate against movement while the other dieplate is moved to ,open and close :the 'diesetjby themovable clamprlti.In the form of the invention shown, the clamp means comprises a bracket39 which has a base portion All adapted to -.be attached .to the plate6, and an upright portion 4|. The upright portion M has a threaded bore42 therethrough, the axis vof which ibore ,is inclined at approximately15 relative to the plane of the base portion and receives a clamp rod23' therethrough. In the form of the invention shown, clamp rod 23 islike clamp rod 23 and like parts have the same reference charactersbearing primes, andsleeve 28 is threaded in bore 42. The .base portion40 .of bracketi39 .is adapted to be positioned on the plate 6 preferablyby pins 45 fixed in openings in the base and which project intocorresponding aperturesor holes 46 through the plate 6. By thisarrangement the bracket may be quickly positioned on the plate.Preferably, a series of holes 46 are provided so that .the bracket 39maybe selectively located different distances from the bar 35 forproviding most effective use of the clamp rod 23' against a particulardie set plate restingagainst-the bar. By this construction, the punchplate P2 can be Isecurelyclamped to the forward side of bar I 35,,andthe clamp 15 can then move thepunch plate Pl in either direction toopen and close the die set without the necessity of moving the punchplate P2 to opposite sides of the bar.

The vertical positioning of the major planes of the die set platesaffords an unobstructed view of the die maker who may look downwardlybetween the die plates while in a normal standing position. It will benoted that both die set plates rest on the plane surface of plate 5throughout the straight line closing and separating movements and,consequently, there will be a complete absence of lateral or twistingpressures on the guide rods or guide bushings of the die set. Also, itis unnecessary to lift or to otherwise manually handle the die setmembers during either the separation or closing movements thereof.

It is apparent that the present invention provides an apparatus whichfacilitates the handling of die sets, particularly during theconstruction of the die elements, and which eliminates stresses on theguide rods and bushing of the die sets during the separation or closingthereof. By using the apparatus during the interfitting and testing ofthe die elements, considerable manual handling of the die set membersheretofore necessary can be eliminated, thereby increasing theefficiency of the production of dies and reducing the likelihood ofdamage thereto.

While a preferred construction of the die set Separating apparatus hasbeen shown and demember by which the die plate can be acted on toseparate or close the die set plates. Other changes will suggestthemselves to those skilled in the art to which the invention relatesand it is my intention to cover hereby all adaptations, modificationsand uses of the invention which come within the practice of thoseskilled in the art and the scope of the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

An apparatus of the character described comprising a member forming asubstantially horizontal plane surface for supporting a pair of die setplates edgewise, said member having an elongated opening in saidsurface, a clamping device having a pair of clamping elements disposedin the plane normal to said surface and extendible through said openingto engage one of said plates and secure it in an edgewise position onsaid surface, said member having guides extending parallel with theopening therein and located on opposite sides of said opening, athreaded rotatable shaft extending parallel with said guides andthreadingly cooperating with the clamping device for moving the latteralong said shaft and said guides, an abutment on said member projectingfrom said surface for engaging with the other die set plate positionedon edge and of a length substantially equal to the length of thesupported edge of said other die plate and extending transversely of thepath of movement of the clamp, and clamping means located at one side ofsaid abutment and movable to and from said abutment to clamp said otherdie set plate against said abutment.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

